William Morgan Jr

A significant number of inmates with mental illness reside within the New York State Department of Corrections (NYSDOCS). New York State has taken the initiative to provide mentally ill inmates with necessary services through a collaboration of the New York State Department of Correctional Services and the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH). The collaboration results in a mental health delivery system that provides many essential services to mentally ill inmates. This paper focuses on the organization of mental health services within NYSDOCS, best practices, past and current litigation, and staff responsibilities. As the population of mentally ill inmates continues to grow, implications for the Human Services professions of OMH and DOCS needs to continue to address and provide adequate mental health care and resources for this special population.

According to Scheck, Newfeld, and Dwyer (2000), there have been innumerable individuals wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to life imprisonment or to death based upon faulty evidence. The historical development of DNA evidence as a tool in the investigative process during the past 25 years is explained/analyzed, and the role of eyewitness evidence in the wrongful conviction of innocent individuals. This paper culminates in the Anthony Capozzi case study where eyewitness testimony wrongfully imprisoned a man before the advent of DNA technology and which ultimately freed him years after the crime. The methodology used is the examination of journal articles, books, and newspaper articles on the phenomenon of wrongful convictions.